Paris deal 'more likely' due to Commonwealth accord

World leaders are gathering in Paris as the UN climate change conference will open in the French capital on Monday and run until December 11th. More than 140 heads of state and government will attend the opening ceremony.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has already arrived in Paris. The conference is tasked with reaching a legally binding and universal climate pact. The goal is to limit average global warming to two degrees Celsius, perhaps less, over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, by curbing fossil fuel emissions. So far this year, 183 of 195 nations have issued long-term plans for tackling climate change, covering about 95 percent of world emissions.

The summit will be held in tight security. About 28 hundred troops and police officers are on duty near the conference site.

Last Sunday, the Commonwealth said that a climate change agreement signed in Malta by the 53-country organisation has made clinching a deal at the Paris COP21 talks more likely.